Hi-tech bank scammer is jailed

A CRIMINAL gang used wireless computer technology to hijack Manchester's busiest hole-in-the-wall cashpoint machine. The Romanian crooks are thought to have netted hundreds of thousands of pounds in the scam on Portland Street.

The Romanian crooks are thought to have netted hundreds of thousands of pounds by placing a "skimming" device and a tiny camera on the NatWest bank ATM on Portland Street.

In one hour alone, they were able to obtain account details and PIN numbers from more than 100 customers - all sent to a laptop computer using a wireless transmitter.

One of the gang was jailed yesterday for his role in the con, but detectives are still trying to track down at least three accomplices.

Police described the scam as "very ingenious" and urged cashpoint users to beware of hi-tech thieves.

Manchester Crown Court heard the gang deliberately targeted the NatWest on Portland Street, which has the fourth busiest cashpoint machine in Britain.

Sabotage

They deliberately sabotaged a nearby ATM machine to divert customers into their trap.

The NatWest cashpoint was then fitted with a fake facia over the front of the machine including a device called a "transducer", which can read the magnetic strips on bank cards.

The false cover also contained a wireless transmitter, which sent the details to a laptop computer operated by the gang in a nearby car.

A third part of the metal cover included a tiny camera which recorded customers typing in their PIN numbers onto the cashpoint keypad.

Victims of the conspiracy had no idea that they were being watched, as their cash withdrawal would proceed normally. It was only later that their accounts were raided.

Florin Ursu, 26, an illegal immigrant, was jailed for 16 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. The court was told that Ursu wasn't the technical brains behind the scam, but had been filmed shoving plas- tic into the adjacent cashpoint, to force more people to use the one fitted with the skimming device.

The tape showed Ursu and two or three others installing and cleaning the device on three consecutive days in January.

Device

A week later, on January 20, Pc Paul Smethurst, who had viewed the tape, visited the cashpoint and found traces of glue and saw the device had been fitted again.

As he was waiting for a member of staff to disable it, the court was told that the officer was amazed to see Ursu, who he recognised from the CCTV images, walk around the corner.

Ursu was arrested and gave a false name - David Diaz. Found on Ursu was a key-fob to a é25,000 BMW Z4, which was nearby and a search uncovered strong glue which had been used to fix the device, tools to remove it and batteries to work it.

Police discovered the details of 106 bank cards were "skimmed" by the device in just one hour at the NatWest cashpoint on Portland Street. The cards were used to buy é2,744 in goods and services.

In a police interview, Ursu said only that he had been smuggled into the country.

Family

Neil Usher, defending, said Ursu had entered the country to better himself and his family in Romania rather than commit crime and had paid traffickers é1,600 to get him into Britain.

Ursu worked illegally in the building trade, but "came under immediate pressure from the gang behind this conspiracy", said Mr Usher, who described the defendant as "extremely remorseful".

Judge Clement Goldstone praised Pc Smethurst and recommended Ursu be deported at the end of his sentence.

He told Ursu: "This country has no use for criminals of other nationalities if they commit serious crime, which you have ... your continued presence in this country is to its detriment. I therefore recommend that you be deported."

Two years ago, a special M.E.N. investigation revealed for the first time how gangsters from Romania were behind what was then a new cashpoint scam.

Since then, the methods have become more sophisticated, with the banks struggling to keep pace with the latest cons.

Victims of cash card fraud are generally refunded by banks, unless it can be proved they have been negligent.

In 2005, it was estimated the crimes cost banks more than é65m, although the cost has been reduced by the introduction of chip and pin technology.

After the case, Pc Smethurst told the M.E.N. the gang was likely to have made hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Fingerprints

Police are still hunting three or four others they believe were part of the gang, including another Romanian, whose fingerprints were found on the rear of the false facia panel.

Pc Smethurst said "instinct" made him visit the cashpoint in person after viewing the CCTV tape handed to him by the bank.

"I recognised him immediately," he said. "I grabbed hold of him, threw him against the wall and handcuffed him. He was a bit surprised, to say the least."

Det Chief Insp Mark Powel, head of the economic crime unit at Greater Manchester Police, said the crime struck at the "heart of modern society".

"It's a very ingenious method," he said. "The criminals take a plastic mould of the ATM and fit it on the top of the real one at the cash machine in question.

"When someone puts their card into the machine, it passes through the mould and it records the details on the magnetic strip.

"The card then continues into the real machine and the transaction continues as normal. There is also a pin-hole camera which records your fingers going over the keypad - and that's how they get your PIN number.

"At that point, they have the details from your magnetic strip and your PIN number. With the introduction of chip-and-PIN technology to some extent this sort of crime has been disrupted.

'Vigilant'

"It's not very common in Britain, but there have been examples of it. This kind of offence strikes at the heart of modern society. People place their trust in the security of the bank cards they use and this kind of fraud erodes that trust. People should always remain vigilant.

"Does the cash machine look as if it's been tampered with? Are there people hanging around and do more people than usual seem interested in that machine?

"If they see anything suspicious, they should report it immediately to the bank or the police."